A Christmas to Remember
by DannyEmberPhan
Summary: When every other friend the two could think of goes home for the holidays, two magical teens get some time to spend with each other during the most magical time of the year. HxH HarryXHermione


**_I do not own Harry Potter or any characters in any way, it's all owned by J.K. Rowling!_**

 ** _A Christmas to Remember_**

It was a bitterly cold December morning as the group of six teenagers all stood at the Hogsmeade train station, lugging various trunks of various sizes onto the bright red Hogwarts Express.

"I'm really sorry you guys couldn't come along, mum said she'd had love to have you lot over for Christmas but we're supposed to be going to my aunt's," the second youngest Weasley child explained to his two bestest friends on the planet.

"Again, it's alright Ron, I'm sure Hermione and I will still find a way to manage with you lot not around," the messy, raven haired boy joked while lightly tapping Ron's shoulder.

The two of them shared a quick laugh together and said their final goodbyes to one another.

"Try not to miss us too much," the two ginger twins called out as they leapt up the steps of the Hogwarts Express, followed by their little sister.

Ginny, Fred, George, and Ron all clambered onto the Hogwarts Express as Harry and Hermione waved to them and the Express began to move along.

The two teenagers turned and began to embark on their walk back to the school they had both come to love so much.

"So, tomorrow's the next Hogsmeade weekend, do you wanna go tomorrow and do some Christmas shopping?" Hermione asked breaking the silence that was in the air.

Harry had almost forgot about the fact that it was almost the weekend. Usually he counted the days to the weekends but now that it was the Christmas holidays and all classes were suspended, he tended to not care as much.

"Yeah sure, that'll be great," Harry answered smiling.

Truthfully, Harry had already finished shopping for the holidays during the first Hogsmeade weekend back in October, but he was excited to spend the day hanging out with Hermione.

The rest of the day went by rather quickly, the two teenagers spent most of the day in the library looking up things to help Harry out during the tasks of the Twiwizard Tournament.

Harry woke up fairly early on the next morning. He groped over to the nightstand next to his four poster bed to find his glasses and slid them on to his face. Now he was able to see the freshly fallen snow that had blanketed the entire Hogwarts grounds in a pearly coat of white, and it was still in the process of falling as well.

Harry took his time getting dressed since he was the only person left at Hogwarts that inhabited the dormitory with him. Neville, Seamus, and Dean all had family to go to for the Christmas holidays.

Truthfully, Harry did too, and he wanted more than anything to be spending his time with his godfather, Sirius Black, but he knew there was no way that could happen.

He finished putting on his muggle clothes and made his way down to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Unsurprisingly, he was the only person to be down there, especially this early.

He decided to sit down in his favorite arm chair, right by the fire and relax as he thought about the great day he was about to have.

Finally he was able to have a break from the absolute craziness this term had been for him. The Twiwizard Tournament had taken over his life as of late and he was greatful to finally have a reprieve.

After about thirty minutes or so, Hermione came down the steps still clad in her pajamas, trying to shake off the effects of tiredness.

As she reached the common room, she looked towards the fire and was surprised to find Harry sitting there already.

"Harry! What are you doing up this early?" Hermione asked.

Harry jumped since he had not heard or seen her coming down the stairs causing Hermione to giggle slightly.

"Geez Hermione! You scared me!" Harry said. Hermione continued to giggle as she took the seat next to him in front of the crackling fire.

"But anyway, I was excited and thought I would wake up earlier today. Plus I wanted to watch it snow a little bit," Harry answered.

That was one of Harry's favorite things about the holidays at Hogwarts. Every winter, literal tons of snow fell every year. He had hardly seen snow at Number Four Privet Drive, since they were in the heart of England. Plus, for most of his life, he didn't even have a window to his room.

"I love watching it snow as well!" Hermione told him as they both looked over towards the window in unison, "I just think it's so beautiful."

They both continued to stare out towards the rapidly rising falling snow in admiration.

After a while, Hermione decided she would go and get dressed properly and the two would head down to the Great Hall to eat breakfast before heading over to Hagrid's Hut, and then going into Hogsmeade. Hermione had pretty much already planned their whole day out.

Harry was excited to go see who else had stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays down at breakfast.

After about ten minutes, Hermione came down the steps that led to the girls dormitories, wearing a heavy hoodie, and a pink knit cap, prepared to venture out into the cold December weather.

Down at the Great Hall, the two ate breakfast together and enjoyed talking and being able to hear each other for once. There were literally no other students from Gryffindor at the table by the time they decided to head down to Hagrid's. The only other students either of them recognized were Loony Lovegood and Cedric Diggory.

The two of them placed their mittens on as they went out of the great oak doors onto the Hogwarts grounds. They had visited Hagrid's hut numerous times since they first arrived at Hogwarts three years ago.

Hagrid greeted the two of them gleefully as they entered into his hut, immediately being pounced by Fang.

"Hello Harry, Hermione," he said waving at Harry and bowing slightly to Hermione.

He offered the two of them a spot of tea but they respectfully turned him down. They remembered just how dreadful Hagrid's culinary skills had been in years prior.

The two of them explained to him how the past few months of their lives had been, and where the entire Weasley clan had gone for the holidays, as well as how they planned to go into Hogsmeade after visiting him.

"So, are yeh two goin' there on a date," Hagrid asked somewhat cheekily.

Both Harry and Hermione instantly began blushing.

"N..no, we're just going to go shopping and spend the day there," Harry explained shakily, trying not to sound nervous.

Hermione looked slightly disappointed for some reason but Harry was far too clueless to even notice anything at all.

Hagrid however, noticed Hermione's slight action and smiled knowingly.

"Righ' okay," Hagrid said in a cheeky tone once again, "Well enjoy Hogsmeade!" he called to them beaming as they headed out of Hagrid's hut.

"Oh and 'ave a Happy Chris'mas!" he said cheerfully.

"Happy Christmas!" both Harry and Hermione called back to him as they made off to go into the village of Hogsmeade finally.

Once they had reached Hogsmeade, the snow had picked up considerably. It was now almost completely white, no matter where you look.

The two of them visited the usual shops they did when visiting the village, Zonko's and Honeyduke's and such. Then Hermione suggested that the two split up for awhile so they could go Christmas shopping for their friends and family. Also, that way if they bought anything for each other, they wouldn't see what it was.

Harry went off in one direction, and Hermione in the other. He began to just walk around, taking in the wintery sights of the village since he had already finished his shopping for the season.

On the opposite side of the small town, Hermione was also walking around aimlessly. Truthfully, she had also already finished all of her shopping. She had always been on top of things, whether it being schoolwork or just planning things out thoroughly.

Eventually, the two of them ran back into each other as they looped around the village.

"So, now that we're done shopping, how 'bout we go grab some butterbeers together at The Three Broomsticks?" Hermione asked cheerfully.

Hermione always seemed extra cheerful when she was around Harry, and it was especially evident today. The mix of the beautiful weather, and spending the day with her best friend put her in the best mood she had been in in years.

"Yeah, I'd love to," Harry said just as cheerful, "My treat though."

He always insisted on paying for anything for his friends since he really never needed money in his life. He had been left with all the money an eleven year old boy could dream of during his first year at Hogwarts.

Hermione agreed and the two of them entered The Three Broomsticks and were greeted by Madam Rosmerta as she led them to a table off in the corner and they told them what they would like.

It was uncharacteristically empty in the pub, since most students were at home for the holidays.

The two of them received their butterbeers and began to sip them periodically, in between talking to each other.

"So Harry, are you excited for Christmas this year?" Hermione asked cheerfully.

This was the first time Harry really thought about Christmas day. All term had been hectic and lately all he'd thought about was Christmas shopping.

"Yeah a little bit," Harry answered truthfully. "With all the craziness of term, I haven't really thought about Christmas till recently," he explained. "I'm excited to see your reaction to what I got you though," he finished explaining which got Hermione to smile in anticipation.

' _Oh, I wonder what he could have gotten me,'_ Hermione thought excitedly.

She tried to hide her excitement as she took another sip of her drink. "As am I," which now caused Harry to get excited. He always loved the gifts Hermione had gotten him for Christmas and his Birthday's.

"I can't believe how quickly the holidays seemed to have come," Hermione remarked. "It's a shame that the Yule Ball was cancelled, I would have quite liked to go to that."

Harry was not as torn up about that. Not only could he not dance whatsoever, he felt like he was never going to find a date, and all champions were supposed to open the Ball dancing with their partner.

"Easy for you to say, you actually found a date," Harry said sort of bitterly. He had a rough go of it trying to muster up the courage to ask Cho Chang but then found out she had already agreed to go with Cedric.

Hermione giggled slightly and began blushing.

"About that...I kinda made that up to make Ron annoyed," she explained smirking.

"So you were going to go alone?" Harry asked slightly wincing because of how insensitive that sounded in hindsight.

"Well there was this one guy I thought about asking, but I think he fancied someone else anyway," Hermione explained with a hint of sadness.

Harry wondered who this guy could have been but couldn't come to a solid conclusion.

"Well whoever he is, he's a git because he'd be lucky to have you ask him to a ball," Harry said with a warm smile which made Hermione smile from ear to ear, not only because of what he said, but because of how clueless he is.

The two best friends continued to talk and sip their butterbeers for a long while and when they finished, payed, and prepared to venture out into the now darkening, December snowy weather.

The rest of the afternoon passed rather quickly as day gave way to twilight and twilight gave way to nightfall. The two spent the rest of the night talking and hanging out in the common room until they decided to give in to sleep and went to bed in their respective dormitories.

Tomorrow would be Christmas Eve and everyone was bound to be in a cheery mood.

Harry went to bed with a budding idea in his brain and smiled to himself as he pulled the curtains closed around his four poster and let the tiredness overtake him.

The next morning came along with a fresh batch of pearly white snowfall. No matter where you were to go you would feel the effects of the bitterly cold December weather. Even the dormitories felt freezing.

Harry woke up shivering under his covers as he sat up in his bed. He looked around for a moment getting his berrings straight as his idea from the night prior flooded back into his head.

Harry woke up fairly early once again, got dressed quickly, and scrambled down the steps that lead up to his dormitory.

Luckily for him, Hermione hadn't woken up yet, allowing him to proceed with his plan without questioning.

He made his way out to the owlery so that he could get an owl to send a letter for him.

Hedwig was slightly peeved that Harry decided to use a barn owl to deliver his letter but Harry couldn't use Hedwig since she was so recognizable.

"You know what to do?" Harry asked as he received a slight peck on his finger showing that the owl had understood and the owl took off out of the owlery windows.

Harry made his way back into the school back up into the Gryffindor tower. He arrived just as Hermione had been coming down the stairs of her own dormitory.

The two exchanged good mornings and decided to make their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast once again.

After having some bacon and coffee, the few owls of the students that were left at Hogwarts swooped into the Great Hall to deliver the mail.

There was no sign of Hedwig but a school owl landed down on the table right next to Hermione and dropped off a letter for her.

She looked at it questionably since there had been no sender written but opened it quickly and began to read it to herself. Her eyes widened as she read the contents of the letter and tried to hide it from Harry.

He decided that he wouldn't press her for questions about it since he noticed her trying to hide it from him.

She was silent for a few more minutes before she spoke up again to Harry.

"So I was thinking in a couple of hours, we could go and visit Dobby and check up on Winky?" Hermione explained. "And we could wish them a Happy Christmas and all that."

Harry always liked to visit with Dobby, especially now that he was the happiest elf in the whole world, so he agreed with enthusiasm.

After a few hours had passed by, Harry and Hermione walked together down to the floor of the castle which housed the entrance to the kitchens, and also Hufflepuff's quarters.

They approached the painting with the pear and did what they had to do to gain entrance.

Immediately they were bombarded by elf's trying to shove various pastries and sweets in their faces, which they politely declined.

They made their way down to the other end and found Dobby trying to get Winky to get out of her depression which she was dead set on staying in.

The moment Dobby spotted them his tennis ball like eyes widened with joy.

"Harry Potter! It is so good to see you again Harry Potter! And you as well Hermione Granger!" Dobby said gleefully.

Both Harry and Hermione were very glad when they found out that Dobby had been given a job here at Hogwarts. Especially when Hermione found out he was actually getting paid.

"Happy Christmas Dobby!" they both said, returning Dobby's cheerful mood.

In stark contrast to Dobby, was Winky. The estranged house elf of Barry Crouch, she had been set free against her will and spent her days drinking and hoping to shrivel away.

The two best friends and Dobby tried their best to ignore her as they talked and decided that they would bake some cookies together to celebrate the Christmas holiday.

Hermione was having a wonderful time, she used to make cookies with her parents when she was younger all the time.

After a few hours of cookie making, Hermione checked the clock to see the time and her eyes widened at how late it already was!

"Oh geez Harry it's already so late! I'm afraid I need to get back to the common room," she explained and Harry gave no disagreement and waved goodbye to her.

After a few moments, Harry turned to Dobby and whispered something in his ear which caused Dobby to get super cheerful once again.

"Of course, Dobby would love to do that for Harry Potter!" he helped while jumping up and down.

Harry then left the kitchens and made his way back to the Gryffindor common room.

He saw no sign of Hermione but he figured that she was up in her dormitory.

He quickly ran up the steps to his own, and began to rummage through his trunk. In the very bottom were the dressing robes that Mrs. Weasley has purchased for him before the start of the term. He put them on as quickly as possible, not bothering to add in the tie, and made his way down to the common room.

There was still no sign of Hermione, but now there was a large tray of freshly baked Christmas cookies lying on a table near the fire, along with what looked like a fancy record player that Harry had never seen before.

Harry had begun to feel butterflies all throughout his stomach as he began to second guess his plan.

' _What if this all goes wrong,'_ he yelled pessimistically in his head.

All of his thoughts were immediately expelled from his mind as he heard the stairs creak slightly leading towards the girls dorms.

Harry's eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

Hermione had come down the stairs wearing a lilac colored dress, along with matching heels. He noticed that she had straightened her hair and stylized it rather than letting it lay bushy on her shoulders. He also noticed how different overall she seemed. She seemed to be very confident and everything down to her posture exhumed that feeling. Harry had no idea how he hadn't noticed it before recently, but she was truly beautiful.

As Hermione reached the bottom of the stairs, she noticed Harry had been standing in the common room, also in his dressing clothes. For a moment she had wondered what he was doing but being the clever witch that she was, she had pieced two and two together.

"Oh my God! Harry, you were the one who wrote that letter?" she asked in a complete state of shock.

Harry felt his cheeks getting very warm as he nodded, still at a loss for words after seeing Hermione.

She walked over to him and admired his own dress robes as well.

"You clean up very well," Hermione assured him, which caused Harry to stumble over the words trying to escape his mouth.

"T..th..thank y...you," he managed to say.

Hermione giggled audibly as she looked around at the common room.

Harry had really gone to great lengths to decorate the common room for the two's special evening.

"Oh Harry everything's so wonderful!" she said as she gave him a hug that could have seriously knocked him flat.

He had finally found his voice within himself once again.

"Well I remember you saying how much you wish you could have gone to the Yule Ball, and how you didn't think you would've found a date, so I figured I could bring the Yule Ball to you," he explained smiling warmly at her.

Hermione embraced him in another long hug, enjoying the warm embrace.

"Harry," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "Do you remember me talking about the boy I fancied and wanted to ask to the Ball?" she asked quietly.

Harry nodded his reply.

"Well it looks like my Christmas wish came true," she whispered softly as Harry realized just what she had meant.

' _Oh my God, she meant me!'_ Harry yelled internally, ' _She fancies me as well?!'_

Harry could very well be the happiest man in the entire world at that moment.

He didn't know how long it had been since he had realized that he fancied Hermione, but he knew it had been awhile now. After everything the two had been through, especially last year with the Time Turner and Dementor situation, Harry admired her courage and bravery more than anyone else he knew.

Harry just now noticed that the fancy record player had begun playing Christmas carols like Silent Night and other classic songs.

The two took the opportunity that the slower song gave them to start dancing together.

Harry had had a little time earlier in the day to go to the library and read up on how to dance so he didn't look like a complete prat.

The two teenagers intertwined fingers as the held hands with one arm and wrapped their other arm around one another, swaying back and forth gently.

"I thought you said you didn't know how to dance," Hermione whispered grinning.

"I'm a fast learner," he said returning her grin.

The two continued to dance together for what seemed like hours, either slowly or more erratically depending on the tune that was playing at the time.

Another slower song came on and the two reacted accordingly.

As they got closer to each other and started swaying throughout the common room, the two for some reason, felt compelled to stop at one area of the common room. As the song cane to an end, the two were left staring into each other's eyes, Harry's a rich green, and Hermione's a hue of brown.

For some reason, Harry looked up and to his surprise, he noticed a small green plant hanging from the ceiling, no doubt placed there by Dobby.

Harry looked back down to Hermione wondering what to do now.

Hermione answered for him as she pulled him close and their lips met together for the first time in either of their lives.

The moment seemed to last forever, with neither Harry nor Hermione wanting it to end.

Finally their lips parted, and they stared back into each other's eyes as they blushed uncontrollably.

Just then, surprising them both, the clock that adorned the wall began to strike, signifying the change of date.

It was now officially Christmas.

"Wow Harry, it's already midnight!" she said remarkably. She couldn't believe how quickly the time passed that they had spent together, laughing and loving every moment of it.

Just then, a thought came to Harry's mind.

"How about we both go get changed into something more comfortable, and we exchange our gifts now that it's officially Christmas?" Harry suggested and Hermione agreed with anticipation.

After about ten minutes or so, both teenagers returned down the stairs, both carrying boxes, that oddly enough, seemed to be the same size.

They both sat down on the floor in front of the fire and handed each other their gifts.

"You can go first," Harry said beaming with excitement. Hermione was just as much.

She began to unwrap the the paper that covered the box, and then made an effort to pry open the somewhat worn looking gift box.

Hermione opened it and her eyes widened instantly. Harry had gotten her a brand newPolaroid camera which he bewitched so that the film never ran out.

Hermione had never had a proper Polaroid before.

"Oh my God Harry it's lovely!" she said appreciatively.

Then Harry pulled another box from behind his back.

"Oh Harry, you didn't need to get me two gifts," Hermione said as she noticed the second one in his hands.

Harry laughed a little as he explained, "It goes along with the first."

Hermione opened the second box with building anticipation.

Inside was a brand new photo album that Harry had purchased.

"Now you have somewhere to put all the pictures you take with your new camera!" Harry explained.

"Harry, I love this so much," she said as she leaned over and embraced him extra tightly.

She then decided now was a great time to test out her new camera. She held it at arms length away from their faces as they leaned in together and Hermione took her first picture.

The picture came out of the camera shortly after and they both looked at the result.

"Perfect," they both exclaimed.

Then Hermione remembered Harry had yet to open her gift to him.

"Now it's your turn," she explained while smiling at Harry.

He began to carefully open the box which Hermione had given him. Then, he finally opened it, revealing what she had bought him.

Inside, was a proper wizard camera! They were pretty much like a normal muggle camera, except the pictures from this camera would move all around.

Harry smiled warmly as he looked at Hermione.

"Great minds think alike," he suggested as they both laughed together.

They repeated the process of taking a picture together and now Harry had one for himself.

"Hey wait a second," Hermione said as she thought about something, "There's no way you could have gotten that muggle camera in Hogsmeade the other day," she said half wondering how he did it.

Harry laughed.

"No, I actually bought that last June after I returned back to the Dursley's," Harry explained, "I thought you would really like it the second I saw it and I knew I had to buy it for you."

Hermione couldn't believe how thoughtful Harry was and it brought a small tear to her eye.

She leaned forward and pecked Harry on the cheek quickly as a sign of gratitude.

"I love it," she said sweetly as she leaned back to how she was sitting before.

The two sat there for a couple of moments, enjoying the moment they were sharing together.

Harry had never been happier that the Weasley family wasn't around because this moment surely wouldn't have happened if they had been here.

Hermione seemed to have been having the exact same thought as they both laughed, both assuming what the other was laughing about

"Y'know Harry, you've already given me the best Christmas ever," Hermione whispered as she crawled closer to him so they were mere inches apart.

The two hugged again and Harry could have sworn Hermione's grip could crack a few ribs, but he had loved every moment.

"Merry Christmas Harry," Hermione whispered softly into his ear.

"Merry Christmas Hermione."

 ** _So this was my first attempt ever at writing a Harmione fic and I really hope you guys like how it turned out! (Little backstory here) Ever since I was little, I always thought Hermione should have ended up with Harry and I was genuinely mad when I found out who ends up with who. That's why this site is so awesome because I know I'm not the only one! Anyway, if you enjoyed this, please leave a review and tell me what you think! Merry Christmas everybody!_**


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